Women with Mental Illness

Part 2: Context for Practice

The inequalities experienced by women with mental illness have been shaped by forms of oppression, such as moral exclusion (social stigmatization and marginalization) and cultural imperialism (gendered norms that do not allow women to seek help for mental illness). Moral exclusion occurs when a person is made to feel inferior to or separate from others. This happens with women experiencing mental illness because society condemns them as weak and imperfect (Boysen & Logan, 2017). In general there is a stigma of seeking help for mental health because there is too little understanding about what mental illness is, its prevalence, and why it is important to view it with understanding (Lopez, Sanchez, Killian & Eghaneyan, 2018). For women there is the idea that if they have mental illness, they are not in control of themselves and may act out in a way that harms others (Taylor & Richards, 2019). Mainstream society has cultural expectations for women and those standards act as a form of cultural imperialism in that they prevent women from seeking mental health treatment because of the taboo associated with mental illness.

Social work professionals may have the opportunity to work toward empowerment with women dealing with mental illness in settings across systems including individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. They can do this by providing access to counselors and therapists who work with women, applying various approaches and frameworks, such as trauma theory (Tseris, 2019). Family systems approach can be used as well as group approaches. According to Shooshtari, Abedi, Bahrami & Samouei (2018), women with mental health issues also can be empowered by making sure their primary needs are being met, including their need for food and shelter; after that, it is important that their social needs are met, such as having a support network of friends or family they can turn to for help. All of this is in line with Maslows (1943) theory of motivation and the hierarchy of needs: in order for a person to reach a state of self-actualization, the persons lower level needs of shelter, security, love and self-esteem have to be met first. It is the same with a woman dealing with mental illness, only these needs are more pronounced because of the disadvantage the woman is at considering her mental health and the stigma associated with it. A social worker needs to be there to help her make sure the basic needs are being metshelter, security, social support, and self-esteem. Additionally, Shooshtari et al. (2018) notes that the social worker will also be able to empower the woman with mental illness by providing access to facilities and values, knowledge about her rights, a way to participate in decision-making, and the opportunity to take control of her life. For example, a social worker could help to empower a woman dealing with mental illness by providing her with access to a clinic where services are provided, or by connecting her with a church group or local organization that caters to individuals with mental health issues so that they can develop a support system.

The theory of planned behavior posits that individuals have or perceive themselves to have control over their own lives. One valuable study conducted by Rowe et al. (2016) showed that young drivers who believed themselves to be in control of their environment were more likely to take risks on the road than young drivers who were cautious and aware of the many factors that might cause them to have an accident. The strength of planned behavior theory is that it allows one to predict behavior based on perceptions of control; it also enables one to create a construct of control as a concept.

In the context of a social worker using this theory of human behavior with a woman dealing with mental illness, the important point to keep in mind is that the social worker would be applying the theory in a way so as to forecast how the client would react given the clients perception of control. By applying the theory of planned behavior to this population, one can help to predict how a woman with mental illness might respond to various situations depending upon how in control she feels. The more helpless a woman feels the more support she might need before she is able to begin making decisions on her own or feeling confident enough to begin to reach out and develop a support network without fear of stigmatization. A social worker can also make an assessment if the woman perceives herself to be in more control than she actually is; it will likely mean that she will also be more willing to take risks that might be harmful for her health, so the social worker can provide advice, guidance and recommendations based on that assessment using the theory...

They do not always have extensive support systems; some have children that are young; others have children who are grown; some come from abusive relationships; some are the victims of child abuse or drug abuse. Each woman has a unique background; but in many cases there are co-morbidities, such as drug addiction, and some have criminal backgrounds (Al-Rousan, Rubenstein, Sieleni, Deol & Wallace, 2017). Over the past few decades, particularly since the second wave of feminism in the 1960s and 1970s, there has been a change in perspectives on the womans role in society and in the family. Women are seen more in the workplace in more industries than n the past. More women have leadership positions than before. Women are also struggling with other issues, too, howeversuch as drugs, violence, divorce, single-parenting, and abuse. All of these contexts play a part in how practice with this population has changed.

The context is likely to change in the future in terms of mental illness becoming more prevalent, particularly in the wake of the COVID lockdowns of 2020 that completely changed the very nature of society for many people. Social distancing, the collapse of real, face-to-face relationships and interactions, the loss of jobs, and the loss of support systems has been considerably detrimental particularly for young people. The effects of these lockdowns are likely to be seen for years to come. Therefore, women with mental illness are particularly vulnerable and are likely to be experience even more isolation as a result of the lockdowns. There will be even more need for social work intervention and support in the coming years.

It is important to consider micro, mezzo and macro contexts as well. Women with mental illness are likely to have personal issues (depression, anxiety, isolation); mezzo issues (family problems with husband, parents or children); and macro issues (dealing with fallout from COVID lockdowns, for instance). Personal issues will probably increase in the coming years as the traditional supports for women continue to be undermined by a changing social environment that is more and more restrictive. Families are becoming increasing complex with single-parent homes on the rise, divorce on the rise, and blended families on the rise. Additionally there are going to be more and more economic, social and political concerns stemming from COVID crises that have yet to abate. All of this has an impact on the micro, mezzo and macro contexts that affect this population.

Part 3: Empowerment Practice

Empowerment practice is linked to social justice, and with this population women deal with the stigma of mental illness in a way that is unfair and oppressive. To empower women of this population, social workers can advocate for social change while simultaneously giving women access to resources and fostering relationships that can help them to become self-actualizing. Synchronization of effort is the key to empowerment.

Empowerment theory aims at identifying direct and indirect power blocks while bringing the vulnerable population into…